Miscellany: leadership approval and JSCEM (open thread)

Stable personal ratings for Anthony Albanese; election staffing concerns at the AEC; and a call for more territory Senators.

The flood of polling in the week after the budget is inevitably followed in the week after that. Here’s all I have:

• The tracking poll of Anthony Albanese’s personal ratings maintained by US pollster Morning Consult records no significant change, with Albanese starting November on 57% approval and 30% disapproval, down one and up two from the start of October.

• As reported by Anna Macdonald at The Mandarin, Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers told the Joint Standing Committe on Electoral Matters the commission was struggling to attract staff at election time due to low pay and “bizarre behaviour” at polling places. Specifically, Rogers said the May federal election was marked by “people coming into the polling place and recording interactions with our staff, shouting at our staff, and some fairly bizarre behaviour that we haven’t seen previously”.

• Independent ACT Senator David Pocock has made a submission to the inquiry calling for the two territories to have six Senators serving six-year terms on the same staggered cycle that applies to the rest of the Senate, as distinct from the current situation where they have two Senators each whose terms are tied to the House.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

2,077 comments on “Miscellany: leadership approval and JSCEM (open thread)”

Comments Page 41 of 42
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  1. Upnorth says:

    What the Packers did post 1949 doesn’t concern Red Ted.
    ________
    He was with Packer in the 30s and 40s when the Daily Tele endorsed anyone but Labor. Indeed, it was a ‘major aim’ of the paper to influence a largely working class readership to vote against Labor.

  2. Cat at 6.12 pm

    Tactical advice from over the horizon sounds like a contradiction in terms. Israel has a lot of experience in occupations, so the Ukrainians might be thankful it is not advising the Russians. Turkey remains the key mediator. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains by far the most urgent unresolved problem of Putin’s war.

    The next Ukrainian offensive might be toward Vasylivka, which is about 60 km N of Melitopol. If the Ukrainians could break through to the coast S of Melitopol, the remaining Russian troops E of Kherson would be cut off, except for Crimea link.

    There is a commentary by Freedman from nearly 3 weeks ago about winter:

    https://samf.substack.com/p/general-winter-knocks-at-the-door?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

    He notes: “troops stuck in the field for any length of time need to be able to cope with harsh conditions. It is not just a matter of staying warm. Equipment becomes harder to maintain and operate. Fuel demands go up to keep generators going. Mines may be hidden under the snow. Quantities of white paint are needed to camouflage vehicles.”

    In other words, more organisation and preparation are required to fight in winter. The chaotic nature of the partial mobilisation in Russia shows those elements are lacking in Russia’s approach. Don’t be surprised by some further winter reversals.

  3. Cronus at 5.56 pm

    Why did Russia occupy Kherson? Because it’s on the road to Odesa via Mykolaiv. That was the secondary Russian objective, after Kyiv. It was fanciful stuff, but it was quite close for some time until the Black Sea fleet was effectively constrained.

    Clearly, US military aid to Ukraine will continue for at least the next 6 months or so. It’s anyone’s guess as to where Russian forces will be in late Feb, but obviously they won’t be closer to Odesa than they are now. They may be closer to Moscow.

  4. Holden Hillbilly

    Thanks for that story about the SA grid and yesterday’s storm.

    When you think about it, given that storm was a very severe event, I thought it actually shows how stable the SA grid has now become with the combination of large amounts of wind, solar and the big battery.

    Last time we had power lines out with that capacity there was the state wide blackout. This time there were only local losses due to local power lines down. Test passed 🙂

  5. Dr Doolittle

    If any future Ukraine offensive reached Melitopol, or any of the country west of it, that would be devastating for Russian supply. The only rail line to Kherson runs through Melitopol and not Crimea. So capturing Melitopol or the area west of it would cut off all Russian rail supply to Kherson, and northern rail supply to Crimea.

    Since the rail bridge over the Sea of Azov is also still not working (damaged by Ukraine bridge strike) Russian could then only perform truck supply of Crimea and the balance of Kherson. They have not demonstrated the capacity to do that at any stage in the war. No chance in the Ukraine winter.

  6. Socrates at 6.54 pm

    Yes, very pertinent point re poor air quality and Covid mortality. When I smell truck fumes from a diesel engine, I recall the poor air in Moscow in 1987, which was worse in winter. The world’s worst air quality is in Indian cities, which, apart from some places in South America, may have had probably the worst Covid death rates.

    Future global historians will focus on the irrationality of the capitalist response to Covid. The first failure, from Lombardy to the world, was delaying lockdowns so the scale of infection got much worse. Second, tardiness and stinginess in raising and extending welfare support. If ever there was a crisis demanding a universal basic income, Covid was it. Third, instead of using the forced lockdown as a portal to a transformative world, as Arundhati Roy called for, business wanted merely a reversal to the normal mess of the pre-Covid world. Fourth, when vaccination has been so globally uneven, proclaim an end to the pandemic well before it occurs.

    Arundhati Roy’s essay in April 2020 on ‘The pandemic as a portal’ is at:

    https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8-74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca

  7. Re, the ‘origins’ of AFL. Wikipedia:

    “ In his exhaustive research of the first four decades of Australian rules football, historian Mark Pennings “could not find evidence that those who wrote the first rules were influenced by the Indigenous game of Marngrook”.[26] Melbourne Cricket Club researcher Trevor Ruddell wrote in 2013 that Marn Grook “has no causal link with, nor any documented influence upon, the early development of Australian football.”

    Chris Hallinan and Barry Judd describe the historical perspective of the history of Australian Rules as Anglo-centric, having been reluctant to acknowledge the Indigenous contribution. They go on to suggest this is an example of white Australians struggling to accept Indigenous peoples “as active and intelligent human subjects”.

    If Tom Wills had have said “Hey, we should have a game of our own more like the football the black fellas play” it would have killed it stone dead before it was even born.

    — Statement by Jim Poulter During 7.30 Report (22 May 2008).”

    ____

    So, if you believe that Eric Von Daniken is a great historian, and the L Ron Hubbard is an inspired theologian, then sure, why not: Marngrook is a true origin story of AFL.

  8. and for good measure, ole M. K. Bhadrakumar. a retired indian diplomat. Bhadrakumar was india’s ambassador to russia, and, later, other former soviet socialist republics during the breakup of the ussr.

    https://www.indianpunchline.com/russias-kherson-withdrawal-is-tactical/

    He’s also the same magisterially worthless bullshit artist whom you cited to support your contention two months ago that Ukraine was tottering amid mass desertions and that there would be a coup against Zelensky by Christmas.

    You will believe anything — literally anything at all — other than facts.

  9. From “The Worker” on the Death of “Red” Ted Theodore.

    “E. G. THEODORE
    DIES IN
    SYDNEY
    E. G. Theodore, ex Premier of Queensland and Federal Treasurer in the Scullin Labor Government, died last Thursday in Sydney, aged 65. He was the first Queensland Branch President of the A.W.U. after the amalgamation with the Amalgamated Workers Association, and at 24 entered the Queensland Parliament. He was given a State funeral inSydney last Saturday.

    ACTING Branch Secretary H. Boland said that the late ‘Ted’ Theodore when Premier of
    Queensland did more than any single person to raise the working and living standards of the
    ordinary man. As a pioneer A.W.U. leader, Theodore knew the hardships of the workers, and of their struggle to get proper living conditions. It was this hard-on knowledge which had impelled him to ensure that industrial laws were drafted in such a way as to give justified dignity to employees throughout Queensland, and this had repercussed throughout Australia with great benefit to workers and the nation.

    Mr. Boland said as long as industrial agreements and awards were negotiated in this State, the
    main basis of their origins could be traced back to the legislation introduced by the late E. G.
    Theodore and his Labor colleagues.”

  10. Dr Doolittle says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 7:34 pm
    Cronus at 5.56 pm

    Why did Russia occupy Kherson? Because it’s on the road to Odesa via Mykolaiv. That was the secondary Russian objective, after Kyiv. It was fanciful stuff, but it was quite close for some time until the Black Sea fleet was effectively constrained.

    Clearly, US military aid to Ukraine will continue for at least the next 6 months or so. It’s anyone’s guess as to where Russian forces will be in late Feb, but obviously they won’t be closer to Odesa than they are now. They may be closer to Moscow.
    ———————————————————————————————-

    I agree, and much much colder. I had the unusual experience of operating (patrolling) for months in snow at altitude in Lebanon. All those factors you mentioned are absolutely correct from my experience but most of all, we found it extremely difficult to maintain momentum in doing anything, everything. It’s very hard to operate in the heat (East Timor was physically exhausting) but in my experience, operating in the freezing snow in Lebanon was even harder again by an order of magnitude. It exacts a toll on people, equipment and morale.

  11. Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    ACTING Branch Secretary H. Boland said that the late ‘Ted’ Theodore when Premier of
    Queensland did more than any single person to raise the working and living standards of the
    ordinary man
    __________
    He did even more to help himself to the taxpayers dollar re the Mungana scandal.

  12. Somewhere or other, and a very long time ago, I read an account by a German on the Eastern Front in WW2. Doctors noted that they were losing otherwise healthy and well-fed and well-clothed young german soldiers not by being frozen to death (which also happened) but simply dying because their bodies could not cope with the intense cold.

  13. Dr Doolittle @ #2003 Sunday, November 13th, 2022 – 7:25 pm

    Cat at 6.12 pm

    Tactical advice from over the horizon sounds like a contradiction in terms. Israel has a lot of experience in occupations, so the Ukrainians might be thankful it is not advising the Russians. Turkey remains the key mediator. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains by far the most urgent unresolved problem of Putin’s war.

    The next Ukrainian offensive might be toward Vasylivka, which is about 60 km N of Melitopol. If the Ukrainians could break through to the coast S of Melitopol, the remaining Russian troops E of Kherson would be cut off, except for Crimea link.

    There is a commentary by Freedman from nearly 3 weeks ago about winter:

    https://samf.substack.com/p/general-winter-knocks-at-the-door?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

    He notes: “troops stuck in the field for any length of time need to be able to cope with harsh conditions. It is not just a matter of staying warm. Equipment becomes harder to maintain and operate. Fuel demands go up to keep generators going. Mines may be hidden under the snow. Quantities of white paint are needed to camouflage vehicles.”

    In other words, more organisation and preparation are required to fight in winter. The chaotic nature of the partial mobilisation in Russia shows those elements are lacking in Russia’s approach. Don’t be surprised by some further winter reversals.

    Thanks for that insight, Dr Doolittle. Wrt the Israelis I only meant that they may be offering advice to the Ukraine Military about battle tactics. Insofar as it relates to unique approaches to take. Though it seems the Ukrainians have no shortage of surprising moves to make on the battlefield.

    I do remember hearing that they may be taking a 3-pronged approach, I can’t say from which direction they would be coming at the Russians specifically but yes, Zaporizhzhia would be a major target to take back as soon as possible. I don’t know, if I were the Ukrainians, I’d be trying something sneaky like tunneling into the power plant (in a safe way, of course), to introduce the element of surprise to the Russians that are holding it and the people who work in it , hostage. I’m not sure of the nature of the ground in that area but it may be worth a shot.

    As far as trenches are concerned, I’ve watched a few tours of Ukrainian and Russian trenches and dug outs and the Russian ones are basic and the Ukrainians have a lot of the comforts of home, they are quite extensive.

    I’d suggest white paint with scraggly brown lines painted over the white paint to suggest denuded trees. 🙂

  14. Yup, if the Ukrainians take… or get close enough to Melitopol to effectively interdict the road and rail links then the only effective supply route to the whole of Crimea and much of Zaphorisa Oblast is via the already damaged (and known vulnerable) Kerch bridge. The landing ships of the Black Sea Fleet will become much higher priority targets. If the Ukrainian’s get (or have as some people have speculated) ATACM’s missiles from the US then that bridge and the ships wont last long. the bridge is a static target, as are the ships (temporarily) when they are loading or unloading in Crimea or occupied Ukrainian territory.

    And not to forget that the Ukrainians had a reasonably sophisticated aerospace industry before the Russian invasion. I would not put it past them to build at least a few SRBM that could reach and hit those targets themselves. They have already demonstrated that they have a much faster operating “kill chain” than the Russians as regards targets of opportunity. Again, something they get from the NATO style training they have been doing since 2014.

    Yah know, regardless of the gear and weapons they are being supplied with, ( which ARE important enablers ) seems that somehow almost all the advantages that the Ukrainians have against the Russians keep coming back to the investment they have made in their people that are USING that gear and weapons.

  15. Just watched an incredibly talented young comedian on AGT tonight. Emo is (I assume) Sudanese , having came (via two detention centres) to Australia at age 8.
    He just took the absolute piss out of Dutton, nay , ripped him a new one, with his take on Black African Gangs. Never even mentioned Dutton, but he didn’t miss!

    Worth the price of admission.

  16. Cat at 8.17 pm

    Any tunnelling would be very hard to conceal. Look at this map posted a while ago:

    https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/032e50755305481a88f421b6543e3295

    Enlarge till you see town name Vasylivka. Ukraine has regained some territory to E of there. There has been partisan activity reported to S, around Melitopol. The distance from Vasylivka to Black Sea coast is about 100km, so a long way. Distance W from Vasylivka to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is about 50 km. If Russia withdraws forces from the left bank of Dnipro R opposite Kherson to counter any Ukrainian offensive to the N of Melitopol, Ukraine could possibly cross Dnipro R.

  17. Are we going to get a Newspoll tonight?

    The cycle used to be fortnightly……..

    Cat – your comment that the Greens are closer to the Libs than Labor is a little off the mark. You might have missed it but Sam Ratnam announced they were preferencing Labor ahead of the Libs without exception.

    The Libs preferencing the Greens in certain seats is just rank opportunism. It will backfire badly on Guy as he alienates even his own supporters.

    The NSW Libs and Greens may have something in common, but the Victorian Libs have galloped off down the Repugnant Trumpian path. They have nothing in common with the Vic Greens. I had 4 Vic Green candidates in my house this afternoon and I can assure you, their collective contempt for the Lobster man’s team was palpable.


  18. alfred venison says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    and for good measure, ole M. K. Bhadrakumar. a retired indian diplomat. Bhadrakumar was india’s ambassador to russia, and, later, other former soviet socialist republics during the breakup of the ussr.

    https://www.indianpunchline.com/russias-kherson-withdrawal-is-tactical/

    alfred you and M. K. Bhadrakumar can dream on. With Russia now preparing defenses for Crimea, serious people are asking the question, will Ukraine take back Crimea also or will Crimea be on the table for peace negotiations. I suspect the negotiation will revolve around Crimea’s independence.

    By the time that battle takes place Crimea will have no water supply and the Russian Army will have no resupply ( the Crimea bridge will be long gone). It is difficult to see how Russia can hold it. It will be just another block of land to contain Russian force for destruction.

    I think General Hodges sums it up well:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3X8X-HTzi8&ab_channel=RenewDemocracyInitiative

  19. Dr Doolittle 7.51

    Yes I’d agree with all those flaws in the world covid response.

    The incidences of “vaccine nationalism” I thought were particularly eggregious, especially since all countries would have benefitted from wiping covid out world wide. Australia played a regrettable part in that sorry episode, thanks to Morrison and Hunt.

  20. Svatove – Starobil’s’k axis would be my preference for the next iteration of the Kharkiv counteroffensive. Capturing the latter would essentially destabilize the entire Russian Donetsk Front.

  21. think trump is backing rick scott as senate leader scott used to be a trump critick but the right dislike mckonal believinng he is to cowoperative desbite being the most obstuctionist senate leader especialy in obbama era now mckonal is a moderit plus the people against mcarthey are also the right

  22. after2 years of trump pushing for mckonal to be chalinged ricks cscott awho was replaced as florider goviner buy ron desantos with scotts backing looks like chalinging with trump and his alies crews halleys backing perottit is strugiling have no idea whiy he wants to pick a fight over pockies as prodicted the greens line up with the liberals over labor

  23. Boerwar says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 8:16 pm
    Somewhere or other, and a very long time ago, I read an account by a German on the Eastern Front in WW2. Doctors noted that they were losing otherwise healthy and well-fed and well-clothed young german soldiers not by being frozen to death (which also happened) but simply dying because their bodies could not cope with the intense cold.
    ———————————————————————————————

    Shade in whatever form provides some element of relief from the heat but there seemed to be no escape from the cold, it was bitter and all-encompassing. Fingers don’t work (and decent gloves make dexterity impossible) and there was even a slowing of the mind to some extent, especially across an entire day of patrolling.

    I think the slowing of the mind was the most dangerous element as (like hypoxia) there was an unawareness of the impact, almost a bit like being drunk but without the euphoria. Judgement was impacted and tiredness overwhelming. At a time at which we most needed keen senses, they were dulled.

  24. imacca 8:32

    “ Yah know, regardless of the gear and weapons they are being supplied with, ( which ARE important enablers ) seems that somehow almost all the advantages that the Ukrainians have against the Russians keep coming back to the investment they have made in their people that are USING that gear and weapons.”
    ———————————————————————————————-

    I know I keep harping on about it but morale and momentum are absolutely priceless, you simply can’t put a value on them. Sometimes the difference between victory and defeat.

  25. Cronus says:

    I know I keep harping on about it but morale and momentum are absolutely priceless, you simply can’t put a value on them. Sometimes the difference between victory and defeat.
    ____________
    It’s like I’m sitting at the feet of Napoleon.

  26. I went to NutterTruckers to have a look through the bars at the loons.

    They are REALLY not happy with the US elections. All the sadness is every-bodies fault but Trumps apparently. 🙁

    Going to trawl through the comments for more ammusiment. 🙂

    Oh…. and that link from alfred v up thread to the Indian dude. Read that. Has to be daS Rusky sock puppet surely?? The comment on that from our esteemed moderator up-thread was very…..moderate…… considering.

  27. Dr Doolittle @ #2019 Sunday, November 13th, 2022 – 8:37 pm

    Cat at 8.17 pm

    Any tunnelling would be very hard to conceal. Look at this map posted a while ago:

    https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/032e50755305481a88f421b6543e3295

    Enlarge till you see town name Vasylivka. Ukraine has regained some territory to E of there. There has been partisan activity reported to S, around Melitopol. The distance from Vasylivka to Black Sea coast is about 100km, so a long way. Distance W from Vasylivka to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is about 50 km. If Russia withdraws forces from the left bank of Dnipro R opposite Kherson to counter any Ukrainian offensive to the N of Melitopol, Ukraine could possibly cross Dnipro R.

    Oh well, it was a nice idea. I’ve watched too many war movies I guess. 🙂

  28. nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    ACTING Branch Secretary H. Boland said that the late ‘Ted’ Theodore when Premier of
    Queensland did more than any single person to raise the working and living standards of the
    ordinary man
    __________
    He did even more to help himself to the taxpayers dollar re the Mungana scandal.

    中华人民共和国
    Again cobber you shouldn’t try to re-write history – especially with a Tory view. He was innocent. But hey again – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

    It was the Tory Moore Queensland Government that launched the “Mungana Affair” to try kill (successfully in the end) the careers of Theodore and fellow Queensland Premier, William McCormack – (much like the Pink Batts and Trade Union Royal Commissions employed by the Abbott Government).

    The “Affair” ended in a civil trial. My old Lecturer and lately departed friend, Kett Kennedy, explored the “Affair”.

    “The civil case- The King vs Goddard, McCormack, Reid and Theodore-commenced on 22 July 1931 , before the Queensland Chief Justice, J . W . Blair, and a jury of four. This format had been
    provided for under the Jury A ct of 1929, and was quite normal procedure. The Crown was represented by the attorney -general, Macgroarty, and McGill. Counsel for the defendants were B .H. Matthews (for Goddard), N.W. Macrossan (for McCormack), A.J. Mansfield (for Reid) and R.F. Philp (for Theodore)-all of whom had been instructed by the one legal firm, Biggs and Biggs.

    The Crown sought to recover £ 30,000 in damages from all four defendants, as the difference between a fair price for the mines and the price actually paid : £ 3,807 from Goddard and £ 1 3,328 from McCormack and Theodore, being the proceeds they received from the sale of the mines to the government. The Crown advanced alternative lines of argument for this additional claim : either these sums had been receivedby the defendants as agents of the Crown, and misappropriated ; or, they had been received in breach of their duty as agents of the Crown. The Crown’s case was set out in a statement of claim in which it endeavoured to prove conspiracy and damage to the King.

    The defence was obliged to submit a similar claim in the interests of the four defendants. The weight of evidence would decide the outcomein the end, after interrogatories had been filed and witnesses examined.

    On 24 August 1931 , the Brisbane Courier remarked on the widespread interest in the outcome of the trial, and described the tension in the overcrowded courtroom before the jury announced its verdict.

    “There was a moment of some intensity as the four jurors filed into the Court . . . The silence during that moment was so great that one could have heard the proverbial pin drop.” The jury returned a verdict favourable to the defendants on all counts. Asked by Blair if he had any comment before the defendants were dismissed, Macgroarty replied, “I have nothing to say”.

    For the defendants, the verdict marked the culmination of a lengthy but tense ordeal lasting over twelve months, which no doubt imposed severe strain on the lives of those involved in the case. Seemingly un
    important at the moment was the immense financial cost to all parties, yet to be met. The defence counsel had been engaged in preparation of the briefs for nearly a year, while the Crown solicitor’s office had beencontinually engaged for an even longer period. The legal fees for McGill and Macgroarty amounted to £30,000, and although the personal cost to the defendants cannot be ascertained, it might suffice tocontrast the cost of only McCormack’s legal representation at the royal commission, which amounted to some £ 1,170. In the circumstances, it was understandable that the defendants and their counsel saw fit to celebrate the verdict with champagne at – 10. 30 that morning.”

  29. MABWM @ #2020 Sunday, November 13th, 2022 – 8:38 pm

    Are we going to get a Newspoll tonight?

    The cycle used to be fortnightly……..

    Cat – your comment that the Greens are closer to the Libs than Labor is a little off the mark. You might have missed it but Sam Ratnam announced they were preferencing Labor ahead of the Libs without exception.

    The Libs preferencing the Greens in certain seats is just rank opportunism. It will backfire badly on Guy as he alienates even his own supporters.

    The NSW Libs and Greens may have something in common, but the Victorian Libs have galloped off down the Repugnant Trumpian path. They have nothing in common with the Vic Greens. I had 4 Vic Green candidates in my house this afternoon and I can assure you, their collective contempt for the Lobster man’s team was palpable.

    The NSW Greens are probably a different kettle of fish, to be sure. A lot of them made their fortunes by buying land as hippies that became wildly popular with Tree and Sea Changers and the Inner City gentrification, plus getting into the Wellness craze early on, again to make a lot of money and hence their sympathies with the party of capital, ‘matured’, shall we say. 🙂

  30. Dr Doolittle 7.25

    Thanks also for the link to that article on winter and the Ukraine war by Friedman. Excellent.

    Andrew Earlwood

    If you are still here I posted a link to the latest US Congress budget office review of the USN shipbuilding program including subs. This looks at program and cost risks. I.e. it independently reviews the USN advice to Congress. See
    https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23298327/cbo-report-on-the-navys-2023-shipbuilding-plan.pdf

    This does not change any of my previous conclusions on the financial folly of picking the US instead of French SSN. In fact, the problem is getting worse than I concluded. US inflation means prices are going up faster than forecast. The US subs are now more than double the cost of the French ones. Australia would save more than $20 billion building 8 Suffrens compared to 8 of the cheapest US SSN.

    Night all.

  31. “especially across an entire day of patrolling. ”

    Cronus, me never been in the Army and only ever been in snow twice in my life. I live in W.A. Beach person.

    But, couple of days in the Swiss Alps with walking up hills in not particularly deep snow was enough. And that was as a tourist with schnaps and venison and wine and ……… 🙂

    Days out in it…bugger that.

  32. nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:00 pm
    Cronus says:

    I know I keep harping on about it but morale and momentum are absolutely priceless, you simply can’t put a value on them. Sometimes the difference between victory and defeat.
    ____________
    It’s like I’m sitting at the feet of Napoleon.
    —————————————————————————————-
    Chuckling lots.

  33. Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    中华人民共和国
    Again cobber you shouldn’t try to re-write history – especially with a Tory view. He was innocent. But hey again – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
    _________________
    Yes all a Tory plot. Innocent man.

  34. nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    中华人民共和国
    Again cobber you shouldn’t try to re-write history – especially with a Tory view. He was innocent. But hey again – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
    _________________
    Yes all a Tory plot. Innocent man.
    中华人民共和国
    Good you agree with the Jury verdict mate.

  35. imacca says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:08 pm
    “especially across an entire day of patrolling. ”

    Cronus, me never been in the Army and only ever been in snow twice in my life. I live in W.A. Beach person.

    But, couple of days in the Swiss Alps with walking up hills in not particularly deep snow was enough. And that was as a tourist with schnaps and venison and wine and ………

    Days out in it…bugger that.
    ——————————————————————————————-

    I’ve long been of the opinion that snow is best experienced from inside a lodge, next to a fire and with a hot cup of chocolate in hand looking out. But then I’ve long resided in QLD.

  36. Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    中华人民共和国
    Again cobber you shouldn’t try to re-write history – especially with a Tory view. He was innocent. But hey again – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
    _________________
    Yes all a Tory plot. Innocent man.
    中华人民共和国
    Good you agree with the Jury verdict mate.
    ________
    I’ve read enough about it to form my own opinion of what happened, but I’ll stick to the non aggression pact. If it means that much to you.

  37. nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:19 pm

    Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    nath says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    Upnorth – Be Proud of your Pragmatism says:

    中华人民共和国
    Again cobber you shouldn’t try to re-write history – especially with a Tory view. He was innocent. But hey again – never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
    _________________
    Yes all a Tory plot. Innocent man.
    中华人民共和国
    Good you agree with the Jury verdict mate.
    ________
    I’ve read enough about it to form my own opinion of what happened, but I’ll stick to the non aggression pact. If it means that much to you.
    中华人民共和国
    Re-signed and ratified in the presence of His Excellency Mr William Bowe Esq.

  38. Cronus @ #2025 Sunday, November 13th, 2022 – 8:48 pm

    Boerwar says:
    Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 8:16 pm
    Somewhere or other, and a very long time ago, I read an account by a German on the Eastern Front in WW2. Doctors noted that they were losing otherwise healthy and well-fed and well-clothed young german soldiers not by being frozen to death (which also happened) but simply dying because their bodies could not cope with the intense cold.
    ———————————————————————————————

    Shade in whatever form provides some element of relief from the heat but there seemed to be no escape from the cold, it was bitter and all-encompassing. Fingers don’t work (and decent gloves make dexterity impossible) and there was even a slowing of the mind to some extent, especially across an entire day of patrolling.

    I think the slowing of the mind was the most dangerous element as (like hypoxia) there was an unawareness of the impact, almost a bit like being drunk but without the euphoria. Judgement was impacted and tiredness overwhelming. At a time at which we most needed keen senses, they were dulled.

    There is a physiological rationale for cold “fatigue” & brain malfuction. The only way to maintain core temperature in extreme cold is shivering – which involves fast twitch muscle fibers “burning” glucose by aerobic glycolysis. Like the brain, the muscles can’t use any other energy source (like fatty acids) for this process, and the body can’t store glucose (it has to manufacture it from stored glycogen – which requires more energy). Cold chews energy like nothing else, even without the hypoxia of altitude. The daily energy requirement of high latitude trekking and high altitude climbing is about twice that at temperate climes – but it is the cold that fatigues not the hypoxia. This is from personal experience, not just theory.

  39. Marngrook Indeed
    This alt. Hist of AFL ignores that Tom Wills attended Rugby School, 25 years after William Webb Ellis allegedly ran after catching the ball but when it was still more common to take a free kick, with the opposing team standing back, when taking a catch on the full.

    The origin legend of the NRL is well documented if less poetic and more mercenary. It dates from Daly Messenger’s mum telling him to take Mr J J Giltinain’s sovereign

  40. If we are talking Red Ted the question of whether William Mahoney took a backhander to resign from the seat of Dalley must be asked
    Despite all this Theodore’s inflationary response to the depression would now be considered orthodox but one wonders if all the accusations were an attempt to derail it.

  41. frednk @ #2041 Sunday, November 13th, 2022 – 9:15 pm

    Is it not realized by our ABC that the best way to lock up carbon is to convert a old growth forest to a house, which keeps the carbon locked up and plant a new forest.

    https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1900797116
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6410778/

    Why is the ABC stuck in the past.

    Virtually no old growth forest ends up in houses in Australia. House framing is either treated plantation pine (mostly from New Zealand) or steel. The magnificent trees become woodchips which end up as paper and cardboard, the vast majority of which makes its way to landfill, and thence rots to methane.

    Every animal and almost all invertebrates that live in the forest end up dead, rapidly. All of the mammals have nowhere to find food or shelter, likewise the reptiles. They are either killed outright, or displaced into surrounding forest, where they fight each other to death for territory and/or food. Ditto for birds. The ground cover and all offcuts and unused timber are heaped up and burnt, becoming instantaneous carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

    Forestry departments see forests as vertical repositories of woodchips and garden stakes, rather than the vastly complex ecosystems that they are, in actual fact. It is exactly the same as seeing the Great Barrier Reef as a source of limestone for making cement, while ignoring all of the life forms within it.

    The native timber industry would not exist at all if any remotely reasonable charge was made for the resource. It is a monumental disgusting disgrace, and absolutely insupportable by any rational, thinking human being.

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